Method for triggering communication between group of mtc devices and mtc server, and mtc device

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses a method for triggering communication between a group of MTC devices and an MTC server, and an MTC device. The method includes: receiving an MTC request message sent by a machine type communications MTC server, where the MTC request message carries a group ID of the group of MTC devices and a communication notification message for the group of MTC devices; obtaining area information of the group of MTC devices; and sending the area information, the group ID of the group of MTC devices, and the communication notification message for the group of MTC devices to a cell broadcast center CBC, so that the CBC sends a broadcast message to a device in an area, where the broadcast message includes the group ID of the group of MTC devices and the communication notification message for the group of MTC devices.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of international Application No.PCT/CN2011/073350, filed on Apr. 27, 2011, which claims priority toChinese Patent Application No. 201010168694.1, filed on Apr. 30, 2010,both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of communicationstechnologies, and in particular, to a method for triggeringcommunication between a group of MTC devices and an MTC server, and anMTC device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

M2M (machine-to-machine, machine-to-machine communications) means thatdata is automatically transmitted from one terminal to another terminalwithout human involvement. In other words, M2M is a dialogue betweenmachines, and M2M is also referred to as the Internet of things(Internet of Things).

In an M2M communication process, a large amount of M2M information isgenerated. Such information needs to be transmitted based on acommunication system. That is, M2M is communication between machines,but still needs to be managed by a network side. An existing mobilecommunication network becomes a most popular and most promisingtechnology for bearing and transmitting M2M information because no cabledeployment is required and a coverage area is large. In addition, with acontinuous increase of a mobile communication network bandwidth andincreasing diversification of a terminal, a data service capability isimproved continuously, which may further accelerate development of anM2M application.

In the future, M2M communication will be introduced to all industries,and for various different applications, mass terminals in trillions willbe introduced at the same time. The introduction of such mass terminalsraises a higher requirement on a management capability of a network sideand increases a transmission load between a network and a terminal atthe same time. To optimize the management capability of the network sideand optimize signaling/data transmission between the network and theterminal, in a case where no data needs to be transmitted, only asignaling connection on a control plane may be maintained between theterminal and the network. In this case, the terminal can receive only aninstruction delivered by the network side, but cannot transmit data on aservice layer. In this way, when the terminal needs to transmit data onthe service layer, it is required to “wake up” the terminal first. Thatis, a connection on a data plane is established for the terminal totrigger sending of data of the terminal. However, in an actualapplication, it may be necessary to trigger multiple terminals first tocarry out a certain service. In this case, in the prior art, there is nocorresponding solution about how to trigger multiple MTC devices.

For example, in M2M communication for a power system, to obtain electricmeter readings of a community, all electric meters in the community needto be woken up to transmit data to an MTC server (Machine TypeCommunications Server, machine type communications server) of the powersystem. In this case, a problem of how to trigger sending data of theseelectric meters needs to be solved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method for triggering communicationbetween a group of MTC devices and an MTC server, and an MTC device,thereby providing an implementation solution for triggeringcommunication between a group of MTC devices and an MTC server.

The present invention provides the following solutions.

A method for triggering communication between a group of MTC devices andan MTC server includes:

receiving an MTC request message sent by a machine type communicationsMTC server, where the MTC request message carries a group ID of thegroup of MTC devices and a communication notification message for thegroup of MTC devices;

obtaining area information of the group of MTC devices; and

sending the area information, the group ID of the group of MTC devices,and the communication notification message for the group of MTC devicesto a cell broadcast center CBC, so that the CBC sends a broadcastmessage to a device in an area, where the broadcast message includes thegroup ID of the group of MTC devices and the communication notificationmessage for the group of MTC devices.

A method for triggering communication between a group of MTC devices andan MTC server includes:

receiving an MTC request message sent by a machine type communicationsMTC server, where the MTC request message carries a group ID of thegroup of MTC devices and a communication notification message for thegroup of MTC devices;

obtaining area information of the group of MTC devices; and

sending a broadcast message to a device in an area, where the broadcastmessage includes the group ID of the group of MTC devices and thecommunication notification message for the group of MTC devices.

A method for communicating with an MTC server includes:

receiving a broadcast message broadcast by a cell broadcast center CBC,where the broadcast message includes a group ID of a group of MTCdevices and a communication notification message for the group of MTCdevices; and

communicating with an MTC server according to content in the broadcastmessage;

where the CBC obtains area information of the broadcast message andbroadcasts the area information of the broadcast message in thefollowing manner:

receiving an MTC request message that is sent by the MTC server andcarries the group ID of the group of MTC devices and the communicationnotification message for the group of MTC devices; obtaining areainformation of the group of MTC devices; and initiating a cell broadcastrequest by using the area information; or

receiving area information of an area where the group of MTC devices arelocated, the group ID of the group of MTC devices, and the communicationnotification message for the group of MTC devices, where the areainformation of the area where the group of MTC devices are located, thegroup ID of the group of MTC devices, and the communication notificationmessage for the group of MTC devices are sent by an MTC gateway or anentity that has a proxy function, and initiating a cell broadcastrequest by using the area information, where the MTC gateway or theentity that has a proxy function obtains the area information in thefollowing manner: receiving an MTC request message that is sent by theMTC server and carries the group ID of the group of MTC devices and thecommunication notification message for the group of MTC devices, andobtaining area information of the group of MTC devices.

An MTC device includes:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a broadcast message broadcast bya cell broadcast center CBC, where the broadcast message includes agroup ID of a group of MTC devices and a communication notificationmessage for the group of MTC devices; and

a communicating unit, configured to communicate with an MTC serveraccording to content in the broadcast message;

where the CBC obtains area information of the broadcast message andbroadcasts the area information of the broadcast message in thefollowing manner:

receiving an MTC request message that is sent by the MTC server andcarries the group ID of the group of MTC devices and the communicationnotification message for the group of MTC devices; obtaining areainformation of the group of MTC devices; and initiating a cell broadcastrequest by using the area information; or

receiving area information of an area where the group of MTC devices arelocated, the group ID of the group of MTC devices, and the communicationnotification message for the group of MTC devices, where the areainformation of the area where the group of MTC devices are located, thegroup ID of the group of MTC devices, and the communication notificationmessage for the group of MTC devices are sent by an MTC gateway or anentity that has a proxy function, and initiating a cell broadcastrequest by using the area information, where the MTC gateway or theentity that has a proxy function obtains the area information in thefollowing manner: receiving an MTC request message that is sent by theMTC server and carries the group ID of the group of MTC devices and thecommunication notification message for the group of MTC devices, andobtaining area information of the group of MTC devices.

According to the specific embodiments of the present invention, thepresent invention discloses the following technical effects.

In the present invention, an MTC request message that is sent by amachine type communications server and carries a group ID of a group ofMTC devices and a communication notification message for the group ofMTC devices are received; area information of an area where the group ofMTC devices are located is obtained; and the area information, the groupID of the group of MTC devices, and the communication notificationmessage for the group of MTC devices are sent to a cell broadcast centerCBC, so that the CBC sends a broadcast message to a device in the area,where the broadcast message includes the group ID of the group of MTCdevices and the communication notification message for the group of MTCdevices, thereby implementing triggering of communication between agroup of MTC devices and an MTC server.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To describe the technical solutions in embodiments of the presentinvention or the prior art more clearly, the accompanying drawingsrequired for the embodiments of are briefly introduced in the following.Evidently, the accompanying drawings illustrate only some embodiments ofthe present invention, and persons of ordinary skill in the art may alsoderive other drawings from these drawings without making creativeefforts.

FIG. 1 is a CBS flowchart in a UMTS network;

FIG. 2 is a CBS flowchart in an EPS network;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a first method according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a second method according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a third method according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a fourth method according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a fifth method according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a sixth method according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a seventh method according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an eighth method according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a ninth method according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a tenth method according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an eleventh method according to an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of an MTC device according to anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of another MTC device according to anembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention aredescribed clearly and completely in the following with reference to theaccompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.Evidently, the embodiments to be described are only a part rather thanall of the embodiments of the present invention. Based on theembodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments derived bythose skilled in the art shall fall within the protection scope of thepresent invention.

In the embodiments of the present invention, multiple terminals may betriggered based on a CBS (Cell Broadcast service, cell broadcastservice). The CBS means that information is sent in a broadcastingmanner to all devices that are located in a certain area, wherebroadcast messages may be periodically received outside time forbidirectional communication. Generally, data such as stock marketinformation, weather forecasts, and traffic reports provided bytelecommunication operators is implemented by using the CBS because nospecial limit is set on recipients.

A CBS procedure in a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System,universal mobile telecommunications system) system is shown in FIG. 1. ACBC (Cell Broadcast Center, cell broadcast center) sends a Write-Replacemessage to an RNC (Radio Network Controller, radio network controller),where the Write-Replace message carries an SAI (Service Area Identity,service area identity) and/or a cell identity and/or a routing areaidentity RAI, and then the RNC (Radio Network Controller, radio networkcontroller) broadcasts a message to a user in a specific area, anSA/RA/cell, according to the SAI and/or the cell identity and/or theRAI.

A specific procedure in an EPS (Evolved Packet System, evolved packetsystem) system, which is similar to that in the UMTS system, is shown inFIG. 2. A CBC sends a Write-Replace message to an MME (MobilityManagement Entity, mobility management entity), where the Write-Replacemessage carries a tracking area identity TAI (Tracking Area Identity,tracking area identity)/a cell identity; the MME forwards theWrite-Replace message to an eNB; and then the eNB broadcasts a messageto a user in a specific area, a TA/cell, according to the TAI/the cellidentity.

It can be seen that, a CBC needs to obtain a tracking area identity inadvance, so that a specific Write-Replace message can be initiated to anRNC or eNB in an area. In a common mobile communication system, anetwork element or an application server inside a mobile communicationnetwork initiates a broadcast to a CBC, and the network element or theapplication server inside the network needs to obtain device areainformation in advance.

However, in the embodiments of the present invention, an MTC serverinitiates an MTC communication request. For a mobile communicationnetwork, the MTC server is equivalent to a network element of anexternal network, and the MTC server is only responsible for receivingdata sent by an MTC device, regardless of a current location where theMTC device is located or whether the MTC device has mobility. Therefore,a key to solve a problem is how to enable the CBC to obtain itsbroadcast area information before sending a broadcast message. Theembodiments of the present invention provide corresponding methods.

Embodiment 1

In this embodiment, it is assumed that all MTC devices have beenattached to a UMTS network. FIG. 3 shows interfaces between variousnetwork entities. In this solution, a Ccbs interface is newly addedbetween a CBC and an HLR/HSS (Home Location Register/Home SubscriberServer, home location register/home subscriber server), and otherinterfaces are available by reusing existing network interfaces.

In a method provided in Embodiment 1 of the present invention, MTCdevices are grouped first. For example, the MTC devices may be groupedaccording to different dimensions (for example, different areainformation, different applications, or different MTC owners). An ID(MTC Group ID) for uniquely identifying a group is set for each group.The MTC Group ID is stored in an MTC server, and at the same time,subscription information of each group and subscription information ofeach device included in each group are both stored in the HLR/HSS.

When initiating a wake-up request to the CBC, the MTC server may carryan ID of a group where a device that needs to be triggered is located.It should be noted that a Group ID of a group where a device is locateddoes not necessarily represent area information of the device. That is,after obtaining the Group ID of the device, it is possible that the CBCmay not directly initiate a broadcast message to trigger the device inthe group. Therefore, area information of the device in the group needsto be obtained, so that broadcasting may be performed.

In a UMTS system, device area information is generally represented by anSAI (service area identity) or RAI (routing area identity) or a cellidentity, where the SAI is formed by a PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network,public land mobile network) ID, an LAC (Location Area Code, locationarea code), and an SAC (Service Area Code, service area code). Before amessage is broadcast, the CBC needs to obtain at least one of thefollowing: an SAI list, a cell identity list, and an RAI list. The PLMNID is related to a network element that initiates a request, and isrelatively fixed. An SGSN (SERVIING GPRS SUPPORT NODE, serving GPRSsupport node) may store an LAC and an SAC where a device is located.Both the cell identity and the RAI may be directly obtained form theSGSN. Therefore, the CBC needs to obtain an LAC and an SAC, or a cellidentity list or RAI list of a device according to a group ID obtainedfrom the MTC server.

In a network, multiple SGSNs exists, and only when a certain device isserved by a certain SGSN, an LAC and an SAC of the device can beobtained from the SGSN. Therefore, which SGSN serves a device in a groupneeds to be obtained first. Generally, such information is recorded inan HLR/HSS. Therefore, before obtaining an LAC and an SAC from an SGSN,information of an SGSN where a device is located further needs to beobtained from an HLR/HSS, where the information of the SGSN may be oneor multiple SGSN identities.

In other words, after receiving a trigger request sent by an MTC server,a CBC needs to first obtain, according to an MTC Group ID of a device,an SGSN list where the device is located, from an HLR/HSS, obtain one ormultiple LACs or SACs of devices in a group from one or multiple SGSNs,then form an SAI of the device by using a PLMN ID, an LAC, and an SAC,and finally send an SAI list to an RNC; and the RNC initiates abroadcast to a specified area according to the SAI.

In the same way, after receiving a trigger request sent by an MTCserver, a CBC needs to obtain, according to an MTC Group ID of a device,an SGSN list where the device is located, from an HLR/HSS, then obtain acell identity list or an RAI list of a device in a group from one ormultiple SGSNs, and finally send the cell identity list or the RAI listto an RNC, and the RNC initiates a broadcast to a specified areaaccording to the cell identity list or the RAI list.

A procedure of the foregoing method is described in detail in thefollowing. As shown in FIG. 3, the method includes the following steps.

S301: An MTC server sends an MTC request message (which may be a servicerequest) to a CBC, where the MTC request message carries an MTCindication (an MTC flag bit, or an MTC identity, and so on), an MTCgroup ID, and trigger message content (that is, a Notification(notification message) for indicating that the type of the message is atrigger message). The request message may be sent by using a shortmessage.

An MTC server sends an MTC request message to a CBC, where the MTCrequest message carries an MTC indication (an MTC flag bit, or an MTCidentity, and so on), an MTC Group ID, and a communication notificationmessage, and may further include MTC indication information, and randomaccess indication for initiating communication. The request message maybe sent by using a short message.

The MTC indication information is used to indicate that an MTC device ina specified area accepts a broadcast message sent by the CBC, and theMTC indication message may also be directly configured in the CBC (forexample, MTC Message ID is directly configured in Message ID, that is,an FFFF field in Message Identifier is used to define a new service); orbe negotiated in advance by an MTC network element (for example, an MTCGW or an MTC server) and the CBC. For example, relevant information ofthe MTC indication may be defined in Message ID and Message Type of theCBS, so that the MTC server or the MTC GW may send the MTC indicationinformation to the CBC. Similarly, MTC indication information inEmbodiments 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 may also be configured by using theforegoing method.

The random access indication for initiating communication is used toindicate that an MTC device in a group obtains random access timeaccording to the random access indication for initiating communication,and communicates with the MTC server within the random access time. Atype of the MTC request message may be defined by using 0000100 or0000101-1111111 in Warning Type. Similarly, MTC indication informationin Embodiments 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 may also be configured by usingthe foregoing method.

It should be noted that because an area indicated by one SAI may furtherinclude other non-MTC devices, such as H2H devices, when a triggermessage is broadcast to the area indicated by the SAI, in addition to anMTC device, other non-MTC devices can also receive the broadcastmessage. However, it is obvious that for these H2H devices, the requestmessage does not need to be accepted. If the H2H devices also receivethe trigger message, they may perform certain processing, and finallyfind that the message is not required, thereby resulting in resourcewaste. Therefore, to avoid this case, in an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention, when sending the MTC request message, the MTC servermay also carry an MTC indication to indicate that the message is sent toan MTC device. When an H2H device receives a broadcast request message,if it is found that an MTC indication is carried, the H2H device may notneed to accept the MTC request and may reject the request as soon aspossible, thereby avoiding waste.

In addition, because the number of devices in a group may be very large,and when the devices are triggered simultaneously, if data is sent tothe MTC server simultaneously, a block phenomenon may occur. Forexample, one group of an M2M system may include trillions of devices;after devices in the group receives a cell broadcast message, if thedevices in the group simultaneously initiate a session request to anetwork, a network congestion problem may be caused after all devices inthe group simultaneously access the network. To solve this problem, theMTC server may further carry random access indication for initiatingcommunication when sending the MTC request message. In this way, afterreceiving the request, each device in the group may initiate a sessionrequest according to a specific algorithm and the random accessindication, thereby avoiding congestion.

To facilitate the description, it is assumed that an MTC server carriesan MTC indication and a random access indication in a sent MTC requestmessage in Embodiment 1 and following embodiments.

The communication notification message, MTC indication information, andrandom access indication for initiating communication in the MTC requestmessage may also be defined in CBS-Message-Information-Page n andCBS-Message-Information-Length n. CBS-Message-Information-Length nindicates a specific message length, and CBS-Message-Information-Page ncarries a specific communication notification message, MTC indicationinformation, and random access indication for initiating communication.Similarly, MTC indication information in Embodiments 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,and 8 may also be configured by using the foregoing method.

S302: After receiving the request message, the CBC sends anIdentification Request request to an HLR/HSS, where the request carriesthe MTC Group ID, to request for obtaining an SGSN list where devices ina group are located.

It should be noted that because the devices in the group may be servedby multiple SGSNs, the CBC may obtain multiple SGSN identities from theHLR/HSS.

The request message may be transmitted by using MAP signaling. In a CBSprotocol (23041), neither interface between the CBC and other networkelements (except an RNC and an MME) nor their transmit signaling hasbeen defined. In addition, because the HLR/HSS supports a MAP protocol,it only needs to enable the CBC to support the MAP protocol, so that MAPsignaling may be used between the CBC and the HLR/HSS.

S303: The HLR/HSS returns an Identification Response to the CBC, wherethe response carries an SGSN list where MTC devices in the group arelocated.

S304: The CBC sends an Identification Request request message to an SGSNthat serves the devices in the group, to request for obtaining an LAClist and an SAC list, or a cell identity list, or an RAI list, where theMTC devices in the group are located in the LAC list and the SAC list,or the cell identity list, or the RAI list. The request message uses theMAP protocol.

The request message between the CBC and the SGSN may be transmitted byusing MAP signaling. Neither interface between the CBC and other networkelements (except an RNC and an MME) or their transmit signaling has beendefined. In addition, because the SGSN supports the MAP protocol, itonly needs to enable the CBC to support the MAP protocol, so that MAPsignaling may be used between the CBC and the SGSN.

S305: The SGSN returns an Identification Response to the CBC, where theresponse carries the LAC list and the SAC list, or the cell identitylist, or the RAI list, where the devices in the group are located in theLAC list and the SAC list, or the cell identity list, or the RAI list.

It should be noted that devices served by one SGSN may be in differentareas. Therefore, one SGSN may return multiple groups of combinations ofLACs and SACs, and may also return multiple cell identities, or multipleRAIs.

S306: The CBC combines an LAC and an SAC that are returned by each SGSNinto an SAI (SAI=PLMN ID+LAC+SAC), and sends a Write-Replace requestmessage to an RNC, where the request message carries an SAI list or thecell identity list or the RAI list, where the devices in the group arelocated in the SAI list or the cell identity list or the RAI list, theMTC indication information, the MTC Group ID, the communicationnotification message, and the random access indication for initiatingcommunication.

In the same way, for the cell identity list or the RAI list returned bythe SGSN, the CBC sends a Write-Replace request message to the RNC,where the request message carries the cell identity list or the RAIlist, where the devices in the group are located in the cell identitylist or the RAI list, the MTC indication information, the MTC Group ID,the communication notification message, and the random access indicationfor initiating communication.

S307: The RNC sends an SMS Broadcast Command to all UEs in a specifiedarea according to the received Write-Replace request message, where themessage carries the MTC indication information, the MTC Group ID, thecommunication notification message, and the random access indication forinitiating communication of the devices in the group.

S308: The RNC returns a success response to the CBC.

S309: After receiving the request, a device in the area first parses therequest according to the MTC indication information; and if the deviceis an H2H device, refuse to accept the broadcast message; and if thedevice is an MTC device, accept the broadcast message, match a SearchList stored internally with the MTC Group ID in the received message,and if matches, accept the request message, and if does not match, donot accept the request message.

S310: The MTC device accepts the request message, and at the same time,obtain, through calculation, specific content or random access time of arandom access indication request for initiating communication.

S311 to S312: The MTC device sends a session request Session Request tothe MTC server according to the random access time.

It can be seen that, in Embodiment 1, a CBC can obtain area informationof a device, and then initiates a broadcast request to an RNC, therebyimplementing triggering data sending of a group of MTC devices. Further,because an MTC indication and a random access indication for initiatingcommunication are carried, a message processing overhead for a non-MTCdevice in an area is reduced, and network congestion may be avoided.

Embodiment 2

In Embodiment 1, a CBC obtains area information of a device according toa Group ID of the device. In Embodiment 2, to reduce enhancement for aCBC and avoid occupying excessive CBC resources, an independent networkelement (the network element has a function between an MTC server and an3GPP interface, that is, Interworking Function, such as an MTC GW, anMTC server, or another entity that has a proxy function) may also beused to obtain area information of a device according to an MTC Group IDof the device; and then the network element sends the obtained areainformation of the device to a CBC; and the CBC may directly initiate abroadcast request to an RNC according to the area information of thedevice.

As shown in FIG. 4, a prerequisite of Embodiment 2 is that all UEs areattached to a UMTS network. An MTC gateway (GW, GateWay) is added in theflowchart, and a module for obtaining an SGSN identity and an SAIidentity is added to the MTC GW. At the same time, the flowchart showsinterfaces between various network entities. That is, an interface MGibetween an MTC server and the MTC GW, an interface MGc between the MTCGW and an HLR/HSS, and an interface G-M2M between the MTC GW and an MMEare newly added; and other interfaces are available by reusing existinginterfaces between network entities. Definitely, all functions of theMTC gateway may also be implemented by an MTC server.

A specific process includes:

S401: An MTC server sends an MTC request message to an MTC GW, where therequest message carries MTC indication information, MTC Group ID, acommunication notification message, and random access indication forinitiating communication. The request message may be sent by using ashort message.

S402: The MTC GW sends an Identification Request request message to anHLR/HSS, where the request carries a MTC Group ID, to request forobtaining an SGSN list to which group devices belong. The requestmessage may use MAP signaling.

S403: The HLR/HSS returns an Identification Response response to the MTCGW, where the response carries an SGSN list to which all devices in thegroup belong.

S404: After receiving the SGSN identity to which group devices belong,the MTC GW sends an Identification Request request message to an SGSN,where the request message carries an MTC Group ID, to request forobtaining an SAC list and an LAC list, or a cell identity list, or anRAI list, where the devices in the group belong to the SAC list and theLAC list, or the cell identity list, or the RAI list. The request uses aDiameter protocol.

S405: The SGSN returns an Identification Response to the MTC GW, wherethe response carries the LAC list and the SAC list, or the cell identitylist, or the RAI list, where the devices in the group belong to the LAClist and the SAC list, or the cell identity list, or the RAI list.

S406: The MTC GW sends an SMS request message to a CBC, where therequest message carries the MTC indication information, the MTC GroupID, the communication notification message, the random access indicationfor initiating communication, and at the same time, carries at least oneof the following: an SAI list, the cell identity list, and the RAI list,where SAI=PLMN-ID+SAC+LAC. The message may be sent by using a shortmessage.

S407: The CBC sends a Write-Replace request message to an RNC, where therequest message carries at least one of the following: the SAI list, thecell identity list, and the RAI list where the devices in the group arelocated, the MTC indication information, the MTC Group ID, thecommunication notification message, and the random access indication forinitiating communication. The message supports a MAP protocol.

S408: The RNC sends an SMS Broadcast Command to all UEs in the SAI list,the cell identity list, or the RAI list, where the message carries theMTC indication information, the MTC Group ID, the communicationnotification information, and the random access indication forinitiating communication.

S409: The RNC returns a success response to the CBC.

S410: After receiving the request, a device in an area first parses therequest according to the MTC indication information; and if the deviceis an H2H device, refuse to accept a broadcast message; and if thedevice is an MTC device, accept the broadcast message, match a SearchList stored internally with the MTC Group ID in the received message,and if matches, accept the request message, and if does not match, donot accept the request message.

S411: The MTC device accepts the request message and at the same time,obtains, through calculation, specific content and random access time ofa trigger request.

S412: The MTC device creates a Session Request according to the randomaccess time and sends data to the MTC server, where the MTC device maybe one or multiple MTC devices in the group.

It can be seen that, in Embodiment 2, because a network entity MTC GWspecially used for obtaining area information of a device is provided, aCBC may be allowed to only implement a basic operation, thereby avoidingoccupying excessive CBC resources.

A newly added MTC GW is used to implement the following three functions:

(1) obtaining an SGSN identity to which devices in a group belong froman HLR/HSS, where the SGSN identity is indicated by a Group ID;

(2) obtaining an area identity SAI to which devices in a group belongfrom an SGSN, where the area identity SAI is indicated by a Group ID;and

(3) sending a request message to a CBC, where the request messagecarries an MTC indication, an MTC Group ID, trigger message content, arandom access indication for a device to access a network, and at thesame time, carries an SAI list.

In Embodiment 2, all functions of the MTC GW may also be directlyimplemented by the MTC server.

Embodiment 3

Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 are described by using an example where anSAC, an LAC, a cell identity, or an RAI is saved on an SGSN. However, inan actual M2M application, for some low-mobility MTC devices (forexample, an electric meter), an SAC and an LAC, a cell identity, or anRAI of a device is relatively fixed. Therefore, the SAC, LAC, cellidentity, or RAI of the device may be directly saved in an HLR/HSS. Thatis, when a large number of low-mobility devices need to be woken up, anSAC list and an LAC list, or a cell identity list, or an RAI list of thedevices may be directly obtained from the HLR/HSS. In this case, acorresponding procedure is simplified. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5,the following steps are included.

S501: This step is the same as step S301 in Embodiment 1.

S502: A CBC sends an Identification Request to an HLR/HSS, to requestfor obtaining an SAC list and an LAC list, or a cell identity list, oran RAI list, where devices with a Group ID are located in the SAC listand the LAC list, or the cell identity list, or the RAI list.

S503: The HLR/HSS returns an Identification Response to the CBC, wherethe response carries the SAC list and the LAC list, or the cell identitylist, or the RAI list.

S504 to S510: The steps are the same as steps S306 to S312 in Embodiment1.

Embodiment 4

A manner that is similar to that in Embodiment 2 may also be used in thecase described in Embodiment 3. That is, an independent network entityMTC GW used for obtaining area information of a device is provided, thenthe area information of the device is sent to a CBC, and the CBCinitiates a broadcast request to an RNC. All functions implemented bythe MTC GW may be implemented by an MTC server. As shown in FIG. 6, aspecific procedure includes:

S601: This step is the same as step S401 in Embodiment 2.

S602: An MTC GW sends an Identification Request to an HLR/HSS, torequest for obtaining an SAC list and an LAC list, or a cell identitylist, or an RAI list, where devices with a Group ID are located in theSAC list and the LAC list, or the cell identity list, or the RAI list.

S603: The HLR/HSS returns an Identification Response to the MTC GW,where the response carries the SAC list and the LAC list, or the cellidentity list, or the RAI list.

S604 to S610: The steps are the same as steps S406 to S412 in Embodiment2.

Embodiment 5

The foregoing embodiments are described by assuming that MTC devices areattached to a UMTS network. In an actual application, MTC devices mayalso be attached to an EPS network. A specific implementation method issimilar to that in the UMTS network, but specific network entitiesinvolved and a detailed procedure are slightly different, which aredescribed in the following.

As shown in FIG. 7, a method provided in Embodiment 5 includes thefollowing steps.

First, a prerequisite of Embodiment 5 is that all MTC devices have beenattached to an EPS network. FIG. 7 shows interfaces between variousnetwork entities. In this solution, a Ccbs interface is newly addedbetween a CBC and an HLR, and other interfaces are available by reusingexisting network interfaces.

S701: An MTC server sends an MTC request message to a CBC, where the MTCrequest message carries an MTC indication (an MTC flag bit, or an MTCidentity, and so on), an MTC Group ID, and a communication notificationmessage, and may further include MTC indication information and randomaccess indication for initiating communication. The request message maybe sent by using a short message.

The MTC indication information is used to indicate that an MTC device ina specified area accepts a broadcast message sent by the CBC, and theMTC indication message may also be directly configured in the CBC (forexample, MTC Message ID is directly configured in Message ID, that is,an FFFF field in Message Identifier is used to define a new service); orbe negotiated in advance by an MTC network element (for example, an MTCGW or an MTC server) and the CBC. For example, relevant information ofthe MTC indication may be defined in Message ID and Message Type of theCBS, so that the MTC server or the MTC GW may send the MTC indicationinformation to the CBC. Similarly, MTC indication information inEmbodiments 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 may also be configured by using theforegoing method.

The random access indication for initiating communication is used toindicate that an MTC device in a group obtains random access timeaccording to the random access indication for initiating communication,and communicates with the MTC server within the random access time. Atype of the MTC request message may be defined by using 0000100 or0000101-1111111 in Warning Type. Similarly, MTC indication informationin Embodiments 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 may also be configured by usingthe foregoing method.

It should be noted that because an area indicated by one SAI may furtherinclude other non-MTC devices, such as H2H devices, when a triggermessage is broadcast to the area indicated by the SAI, in addition to anMTC device, other non-MTC devices can also receive the broadcastmessage. However, it is obvious that for these H2H devices, the requestmessage does not need to be accepted. If the H2H devices also receivethe trigger message, they may perform certain processing, and finallyfind that the message is not required, thereby resulting in resourcewaste. Therefore, to avoid this case, in an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention, when sending the MTC request message, the MTC servermay also carry an MTC indication to indicate that the message is sent toan MTC device. When an H2H device receives a broadcast request message,if it is found that an MTC indication is carried, the H2H device may notneed to accept the MTC request and may reject the request as soon aspossible, thereby avoiding waste.

In addition, because the number of devices in a group may be very large,and when the devices are triggered simultaneously, if data is sent tothe MTC server simultaneously, a block phenomenon may occur. Forexample, one group of an M2M system may include trillions of devices;after devices in the group receives a cell broadcast message, if thedevices in the group simultaneously initiate a session request to anetwork, a network congestion problem may be caused after all devices inthe group simultaneously access the network. To solve this problem, theMTC server may further carry random access indication for initiatingcommunication when sending the MTC request message. In this way, afterreceiving the request, each device in the group may initiate a sessionrequest according to a specific algorithm and the random accessindication, thereby avoiding congestion.

To facilitate the description, it is assumed that an MTC server carriesan MTC indication and a random access indication in a sent MTC requestmessage in Embodiment 1 and following embodiments.

The communication notification message, MTC indication information, andrandom access indication for initiating communication in the MTC requestmessage may also be defined in CBS-Message-Information-Page n andCBS-Message-Information-Length n. CBS-Message-Information-Length nindicates a specific message length, and CBS-Message-Information-Page ncarries a specific communication notification message, MTC indicationinformation, and random access indication for initiating communication.Similarly, MTC indication information in Embodiments 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,and 8 may also be configured by using the foregoing method.

S702: After receiving the request message, the CBC sends anIdentification Request request to an HLR/HSS, where the request carriesthe MTC Group ID, to request for obtaining an MME identity list wheredevices in a group are located. The devices in the group may be servedby multiple MMEs; therefore, the CBC may obtain identities of multipleMMEs from the HLR/HSS.

The request message may be transmitted by using MAP signaling. In a CBSprotocol (23041), neither interface between the CBC and other networkelements (except an RNC and an MME) nor their transmission signaling hasbeen defined. In addition, because the HLR/HSS supports a MAP protocol,it only needs to enable the CBC to support the MAP protocol, so that MAPsignaling may be used between the CBC and the HLR/HSS.

S703: The HLR/HSS returns an Identification Response to the CBC, wherethe response carries the MME identity list where the devices in thegroup are located.

S704: The CBC sends an Identification Request request message to an MMEthat serves the devices in the group, to request for obtaining a TAIlist or a cell identity list (for example, ECGI (E-UTRAN Cell GlobalIdentity)), where the devices in the group are located in the TAI listor the cell identity list. The request message may be sent by using aSBc-AP protocol.

S705: The MME returns an Identification Response to the CBC, where theresponse carries the TAI list or the cell identity list, where thedevices in the group are located in the TAI list or the cell identitylist.

S706: The CBC sends a Write-Replace request message to the MME, wherethe request message carries the TAI list or the cell identity list,where the devices in the group are located in the TAI list or the cellidentity list, the MTC indication information, the MTC Group ID, thecommunication notification message, and the random access indication forinitiating communication.

In fact, broadcasting is finally performed by an eNodeB. However, adifference from that in a UMTS system is that, the CBC does not directlysend the Write-Replace request message to a relevant eNodeB. The requestmessage needs to be forwarded by the MME. The request message uses theSBc-AP protocol.

S707: The MME sends the Write-Replace request message to an eNodeB,where the request message carries the TAI list or the cell identitylist, the MTC indication information, the MTC Group ID, thecommunication notification message, and the random access indication forinitiating communication. The request message uses an S1-AP protocol.

S708: The eNodeB sends an SMS Broadcast Command to all UEs in an areaspecified by the TAI or the cell identity list, where the messagecarries the MTC indication information, the MTC Group ID, thecommunication notification message, and the random access indication forinitiating communication.

S709: The eNodeB returns a Response-Success success response to the MME.

S710: The MME returns the Response-Success success response to the CBC.

S711: After receiving the request, a device in the area first parses therequest according to the MTC indication information; and if the deviceis an H2H device, refuse to accept the broadcast message; and if thedevice is an MTC device, accept the broadcast message, match a searchlist stored internally with the MTC Group ID in the received message,and if matches, accept the request message, and if does not match, donot accept the request message.

S712: The MTC device accepts the request message and at the same time,obtains, through calculation, specific content and random access time ofthe trigger request.

S713: The MTC device sends a Session Request to the MTC server accordingto the random access time.

Embodiment 6

Being similar to Embodiment 2, in an EPS system, a network entity MTC GWspecially used for obtaining area information of a device may also beprovided.

As shown in FIG. 8, a prerequisite of this solution is that all UEs areattached to an EPS network. In FIG. 8, an MTC GW is added, and a modulefor obtaining an MME and TAI identity is added to the MTC GW. At thesame time, the flowchart shows interfaces between various networkentities, that is, an interface MGi between an MTC server and the MTCGW, an interface MGc between the MTC GW and an HLR/HSS, and an interfaceS-M2M between the MTC GW and the MME are newly added; and otherinterfaces are available by reusing existing interfaces between networkentities. In the same way, in this embodiment, a function implemented bythe MTC GW may be implemented by an MTC server.

S801: An MTC server sends an MTC request message to an MTC GW, where therequest message carries MTC indication information, MTC Group ID, acommunication notification message, and random access indication forinitiating communication. The request message may be sent by using ashort message.

S802: The MTC GW sends an Identification Request request message to anHLR/HSS, where the request carries the MTC Group ID, to request forobtaining an MME identity list to which devices in a group belong. Therequest message may use MAP signaling.

S803: The HLR/HSS returns an Identification Response response to the MTCGW, where the response carries an MME identity list to which all devicesin the group belong.

S804: After receiving the MME identity to which the devices in the groupbelong, the MTC GW sends an Identification Request request message tothe MME, where the request message carries the MTC Group ID, to requestfor obtaining a TAI list or a cell identity list, where the devices inthe group belong to the TAI list or the cell identity list. The requestuses a Diameter protocol.

S805: The MME returns an Identification Response to the MTC GW, wherethe response carries the TAI list or the cell identity list, where thedevices in the group belong to the TAI list or the cell identity list.

S806: The MTC GW sends an SMS request message to a CBC, where therequest message carries the MTC indication information, the MTC GroupID, the communication notification message, the random access indicationfor initiating communication, and at the same time, carries the TAI listor the cell identity list. The message may be sent by using a shortmessage.

It can be seen that, a newly added MTC GW is used to implement thefollowing three functions:

(1) obtaining an MME identity to which devices in a group belong from anHLR/HSS, where the MME identity is indicated by a Group ID;

(2) obtaining an area identity to which devices in a group belong froman MME, where the area identity is indicated by a Group ID; and

(3) sending a request message to a CBC, where the request messagecarries MTC indication information, an MTC Group ID, a communicationnotification message, random access indication for initiatingcommunication, and at the same time, carries a TAI list or a cellidentity.

Steps S807 to S814 are the same as steps S706 to S713, and are notdescribed again herein.

Embodiment 7

Being similar to Embodiment 3, in an EPS system, a low-mobility devicemay also exist. In this case, area information TAI or a cell identity ofa device is directly saved in an HLR/HSS. The TAI or the cell identityof the device is relatively fixed. Therefore, the TAI or the cellidentity of the device may be directly saved in the HLR/HSS. That is,when a large number of low-mobility devices need to be woken up, TAI ora cell identity of devices may be directly obtained from the HLR/HSS,and does not need to be obtained through an MME. In this case, acorresponding procedure is simplified. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9,the following steps are included.

S901: This step is the same as step S701 in Embodiment 5.

S902: A CBC sends an Identification Request to an HLR/HSS, to requestfor obtaining a TAI list or a cell identity list, where devices in agroup are located in the TAI list or the cell identity list.

S903: The HLR/HSS returns an Identification Response to the CBC, wherethe response carries the TAI list or the cell identity list, where thedevices in the group are located in the TAI list or the cell identitylist.

S904 to S911: The steps are the same as steps S706 to S713 in Embodiment5.

Embodiment 8

In the same way, in the case described in Embodiment 7, a network entityMTC GW specially for obtaining area information of a device may also beprovided to obtain area information of a device and send the areainformation to a CBC, and then the CBC initiates a broadcast request. Asshown in FIG. 10, a specific procedure includes:

S1001: This step is the same as step S801 in Embodiment 6.

S1002: An MTC GW sends an Identification Request to an HLR/HSS, torequest for obtaining a TAI list or a cell identity list, where deviceswith an MTC group ID are located in the TAI list or the cell identitylist.

S1003: The HLR/HSS returns an Identification Response to the MTC GW,where the response carries the TAI list or the cell identity list, wherethe devices in the group are located in the TAI list or the cellidentity list.

S1004 to S1012: The steps are the same as steps S806 to S814 inEmbodiment 6.

In combination with the technical solutions provided in Embodiments 1,3, 5, and 7, Referring to FIG. 11, a method for triggering communicationbetween a group of MTC devices and an MTC server provided in anembodiment of the present invention includes the following steps.

S1101: Receive an MTC request message sent by a machine typecommunications MTC server, where the MTC request message carries a groupID of a group of MTC devices and a communication notification messagefor the group of MTC devices.

S1102: Obtain area information of the group of MTC devices.

S1103: Send a broadcast message to a device in an area, where thebroadcast message includes the group ID of the group of MTC devices andthe communication notification message for the group of MTC devices.

When the group of MTC devices are attached to a UMTS network, theobtaining, according to the ID of the group where the group of MTCdevices are located, area information of an area where the MTC devicesare located includes:

obtaining an SGSN list where the MTC devices are located from an HLR/HSSby using the ID of the group where the MTC devices are located;obtaining a location area code LAC list and a service area code SAClist, or a routing area identity RAI list, or a cell identity list froman SGSN that serves the MTC devices, where the MTC devices are locatedin the tracking area code LAC list and the service area code SAC list,or the routing area identity RAI list, or the cell identity list; and ifthe LAC list and the SAC list are obtained, combining a PLMN ID of thegroup of MTC devices and the obtained LAC list and SAC list into an SAIlist of the area where the MTC devices are located; or

obtaining at least one of the following: an SAI list, an RAI list, and acell identity list of the area where the group of MTC devices arelocated from an HLR/HSS by using the group ID.

When the group of MTC devices are attached to an EPS network, theobtaining, according to the ID of the group where the group of MTCdevices are located, area information of an area where the MTC devicesare located includes:

obtaining an MME list (which may also be an SGSN) where the MTC devicesare located from an HLR/HSS by using the ID of the group where the MTCdevices are located; and obtaining a TAI list or a cell identity listfrom an MME that serves the MTC devices, where the MTC devices arelocated in the TAI list or the cell identity list, and using the TAIlist or the cell identity list as the area information of the area wherethe MTC devices are located; or

obtaining a TAI list or a cell identity list from an HLR/HSS by usingthe ID of the group where the MTC devices are located, where the MTCdevices are located in the TAI list or the cell identity list, and usingthe TAI list or the cell identity list as the area information of thearea where the MTC devices are located.

Similarly, the MTC request message may further carry MTC indicationinformation. When the CBC initiates a broadcast request by using thearea information, the MTC indication information is carried in thebroadcast request, so that a device in the area determines, according tothe MTC indication information, whether the request needs to beaccepted, and thereby avoiding resource waste for an H2H device in thearea.

The MTC request message may further carry random access indication forinitiating communication, so that an MTC device in the area initiates asession request to a network according to the random access indicationfor initiating communication, thereby avoiding network congestion whenthe session request is initiated. Specifically, the MTC device mayobtain random access time according to the random access indication forinitiating communication, and communicate with the MTC server within therandom access time.

In combination with the technical solutions provided in Embodiments 2,4, 6, and 8, referring to FIG. 12, a method for triggering communicationbetween a group of MTC devices and an MTC server provided in anembodiment of the present invention includes the following steps.

S1201: Receive an MTC request message sent by a machine typecommunications MTC server, where the MTC request message carries a groupID of a group of MTC devices and a communication notification messagefor the group of MTC devices.

S1202: Obtain area information of the group of MTC devices.

S1203: Send the area information, the group ID of the group of MTCdevices, and the communication notification message for the group of MTCdevices to a cell broadcast center CBC, so that the CBC sends abroadcast message to a device in an area, where the broadcast messageincludes the group ID of the group of MTC devices and the communicationnotification message for the group of MTC devices.

When the group of MTC devices are attached to a UMTS network, theobtaining, according to the ID of the group where the group of MTCdevices are located, area information of an area where the MTC devicesare located includes:

obtaining an SGSN list where the MTC devices are located from an HLR/HSSby using the ID of the group where the MTC devices are located;obtaining a tracking area code LAC list and a service area code SAClist, or a routing area identity RAI list, or a cell identity list froman SGSN that serves the MTC devices, where the MTC devices are locatedin the tracking area code LAC list and the service area code SAC list,or the routing area identity RAI list, or the cell identity list; and ifthe LAC list and the SAC list are obtained, combining a PLMN ID of thegroup of MTC devices and the obtained LAC list and SAC list into an SAIlist of the area where the MTC devices are located; or obtaining atleast one of the following: an SAI list, an RAI list, and a cellidentity list of the area where the group of MTC devices are locatedfrom an HLR/HSS by using the group ID.

When the group of MTC devices are attached to an EPS network, theobtaining area information of an area where the group of MTC devices arelocated includes:

obtaining an MME list (which may also be an SGSN) where the MTC devicesare located from an HLR/HSS by using the ID of the group where the MTCdevices are located; and obtaining a TAI list or a cell identity listfrom an MME that serves the MTC devices, where the MTC devices arelocated in the TAI list or the cell identity list, and using the TAIlist or the cell identity list as the area information of the area wherethe MTC devices are located; or

obtaining a TAI list or a cell identity list from an HLR/HSS by usingthe ID of the group where the group of MTC devices are located, wherethe group of MTC devices are located in the TAI list or the cellidentity list, and using the TAI list or the cell identity list as thearea information of the area where the group of MTC devices are located.

Similarly, the MTC request message may further carry MTC indicationinformation. When the CBC initiates a broadcast request by using thearea information, the MTC indication information is carried in thebroadcast request, so that a device in the area determines according tothe MTC indication information, whether the request needs to beaccepted, and thereby avoiding resource waste for an H2H device in thearea.

The MTC request message may further carry random access indication forinitiating communication, so that an MTC device in the area initiates asession request to a network according to the random access indicationfor initiating communication, thereby avoiding network congestion whenthe session request is initiated. Specifically, the MTC device mayobtain random access time according to the random access indication forinitiating communication, and communicate with the MTC server within therandom access time.

In combination with the foregoing embodiments, form the respective of anMTC device, an embodiment of the present invention further provides amethod for communicating with an MTC server. Referring to FIG. 13, themethod includes the following steps.

S1301: Receive a broadcast message broadcast by a cell broadcast centerCBC, where the broadcast message includes a group ID of a group of MTCdevices and a communication notification message for the group of MTCdevices.

The CBC obtains area information of a broadcast request and broadcaststhe area information of the broadcast request in the following manner:receiving an MTC request message that is sent by an MTC server andcarries the group ID of the group of MTC devices and the communicationnotification message for the group of MTC devices; obtaining areainformation of the group of MTC devices; and initiating a cell broadcastrequest by using the area information; or

receiving area information of an area where the group of MTC devices arelocated, the group ID of the group of MTC devices, and the communicationnotification message for the group of MTC devices, where the areainformation of the area where the group of MTC devices are located, thegroup ID of the group of MTC devices, and the communication notificationmessage for the group of MTC devices are sent by an MTC gateway, andinitiating a cell broadcast request by using the area information, wherethe MTC gateway obtains the area information in the following manner:receiving an MTC request message that is sent by the MTC server andcarries the group ID of the group of MTC devices and the communicationnotification message for the group of MTC devices, and obtaining areainformation of the group of MTC devices.

S1302: Communicate with the MTC server according to content in thebroadcast message.

The broadcast message further carries MTC indication information, and anMTC device accepts the broadcast request according to the MTC indicationinformation and communicates with the MTC server.

The broadcast request may further carry random access indication forinitiating communication, and the MTC device may obtain random accesstime according to the random access indication for initiatingcommunication, and communicate with the MTC server within the randomaccess time.

Corresponding to the method for communicating with an MTC serverprovided in the embodiment of the present invention, an embodiment ofthe present invention further provides an MTC device. Referring to FIG.14, the MTC device includes the following units:

a receiving unit 1401, configured to receive a broadcast messagebroadcast by a cell broadcast center CBC, where the broadcast messageincludes a group ID of a group of MTC devices and a communicationnotification message for the group of MTC devices; and

a communicating unit 1402, configured to communicate with an MTC serveraccording to content in the broadcast message;

where the CBC obtains area information of a broadcast request messageand broadcasts the area information of the broadcast request message inthe following manner: receiving an MTC request message that is sent bythe MTC server and carries the group ID of the group of MTC devices andthe communication notification message for the group of MTC devices;obtaining area information of the group of MTC devices; and initiating acell broadcast request by using the area information; or

receiving area information of an area where the group of MTC devices arelocated, the group ID of the group of MTC devices, and the communicationnotification message for the group of MTC devices, where the areainformation of the area where the group of MTC devices are located, thegroup ID of the group of MTC devices, and the communication notificationmessage for the group of MTC devices are sent by an MTC gateway, andinitiating a cell broadcast request by using the area information, wherethe MTC gateway obtains the area information in the following manner:receiving an MTC request message that is sent by the MTC server andcarries the group ID of the group of MTC devices and the communicationnotification message for the group of MTC devices, and obtaining areainformation of the group of MTC devices.

Referring to FIG. 15, when the broadcast message further carries MTCindication information, the communicating unit 1402 includes:

a judging subunit 14021, configured to accept the broadcast requestaccording to the MTC indication information, and then communicate withthe MTC server.

When the broadcast message further carries random access indication forinitiating communication, the communicating unit 1402 includes:

an access time obtaining unit 14022, configured to obtain random accesstime according to the random access indication for initiatingcommunication, and communicate with the MTC server within the randomaccess time.

It should be noted that all functions of an MTC GW involved inembodiments of the present invention may be implemented by an entity(for example, Proxy) that has a proxy function.

Persons of ordinary skill in the art may understand that all or part ofthe steps of the method according to the embodiments may be implementedby a program instructing relevant hardware. The program may be stored ina computer readable storage medium. The program includes the followingssteps when being executed: receiving an MTC request message sent by amachine type communications MTC server, where the MTC request messagecarries a group ID of a group of MTC devices and a communicationnotification message for the group of MTC devices; obtaining areainformation of the group of MTC devices; and sending the areainformation, the group ID of the group of MTC devices, and thecommunication notification message for the group of MTC devices to acell broadcast center CBC, so that the CBC sends a broadcast message toa device in an area, where the broadcast message includes the group IDof the group of MTC devices and the communication notification messagefor the group of MTC devices. The storage medium may be a ROM/RAM,magnetic disk, an optical disk, and so on.

The method for triggering communication between a group of MTC devicesand an MTC server, and the MTC gateway device that are provided in thepresent invention are described in detail in the foregoing. Theprinciple and implementation manner of the present invention aredescribed by using specific examples in this specification. Theforegoing embodiments are described to help understand the method andcore ideas of the present invention. Meanwhile, variations may be madeby persons of ordinary skill in the art based on the ideas of thepresent invention to the specific implementation manner and applicationscope. In conclusion, content of the specification shall not beunderstood as a limitation to the present invention.

1. A method for triggering communication between a group of MTC devicesand an MTC server, comprising: receiving an MTC request message sent bya machine type communications MTC server, wherein the MTC requestmessage carries a group ID of the group of MTC devices and acommunication notification message for the group of MTC devices;obtaining area information of the group of MTC devices; and sending thearea information, the group ID of the group of MTC devices, and thecommunication notification message for the group of MTC devices to acell broadcast center CBC, so that the CBC sends a broadcast message toa device in an area, wherein the broadcast message comprises the groupID of the group of MTC devices and the communication notificationmessage for the group of MTC devices.
 2. The method according to claim1, wherein the obtaining area information of the group of MTC devicescomprises: obtaining an SGSN list and/or a mobility management entityMME list from an HLR/HSS by using the group ID, wherein the group of MTCdevices are located in the SGSN list and/or the mobility managemententity MME list; obtaining at least one of the following: a service areaidentity SAI list, a routing area identity RAI list, and a cell identitylist of an area where the group of MTC devices are located from an SGSNin the SGSN list; and obtaining a tracking area identity TAI list and/ora cell identity list of the area where the group of MTC devices arelocated from an MME in the MME list; or obtaining at least one of thefollowing: an SAI list, an RAI list, a TAI list, and a cell identitylist of an area where the group of MTC devices are located from anHLR/HSS by using the group ID.
 3. The method according to claim 2,wherein the obtaining the service area identity SAI list of the areawhere the group of MTC devices are located comprises: obtaining an LAClist and an SAC list of the area where the group of MTC devices arelocated, and forming the SAI list by using the LAC, the SAC and a publicland mobile network PLMN-ID of the group of MTC devices.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the broadcast message further carries MTCindication information, wherein the MTC indication information is usedto indicate that an MTC device in the area accepts the broadcastmessage.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the communicationnotification message further carries random access indication forinitiating communication, wherein the random access indication forinitiating communication is used to indicate that an MTC device in thegroup communicates with the MTC server according to the random accessindication for initiating communication.
 6. The method according toclaim 5, wherein the MTC device in the group communicates with the MTCserver according to the random access indication for initiatingcommunication, which comprises: obtaining, by the MTC device, randomaccess time according to the random access indication for initiatingcommunication, and communicating with the MTC server within the randomaccess time.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the MTC requestmessage sent by the MTC server is received by an MTC gateway or anentity that has a proxy function, and the MTC gateway or the entity thathas a proxy function obtains the area information.
 8. A method fortriggering communication between a group of MTC devices and an MTCserver, comprising: receiving an MTC request message sent by a machinetype communications MTC server, wherein the MTC request message carriesa group ID of the group of MTC devices and a communication notificationmessage for the group of MTC devices; obtaining area information of thegroup of MTC devices; and sending a broadcast message to a device in anarea, wherein the broadcast message comprises the group ID of the groupof MTC devices and the communication notification message for the groupof MTC devices.
 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein theobtaining area information of the group of MTC devices comprises:obtaining an SGSN list and/or an MME list from an HLR/HSS by using thegroup ID, wherein the group of MTC devices are located in the SGSN listand/or the MME list; obtaining at least one of the following: a servicearea identity SAI list, a routing area identity RAI list, and a cellidentity list of an area where the group of MTC devices are located froman SGSN in the SGSN list; and obtaining a TAI list and/or a cellidentity list of the area where the group of MTC devices are locatedfrom an MME in the MME list; or obtaining at least one of the following:an SAI list and/or an RAI list, a TAI list, and a cell identity list ofan area where the group of MTC devices are located from an HLR/HSS byusing the group ID.
 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein theobtaining the service area identity SAI list of the area where the groupof MTC devices are located comprises: obtaining an LAC list and an SAClist of the area where the group of MTC devices are located, and formingthe SAI by using the LAC, the SAC, and a PLMN-ID of the group of MTCdevices.
 11. The method according to claim 8, wherein the broadcastmessage further carries MTC indication information, wherein the MTCindication information is used to indicate that an MTC device in thearea accepts the broadcast message.
 12. The method according to claim 8,wherein the communication notification message further carries randomaccess indication for initiating communication, wherein the randomaccess indication for initiating communication is used to indicate thatan MTC device in the group communicates with the MTC server according tothe random access indication for initiating communication.
 13. Themethod according to claim 12, wherein the MTC device in the groupcommunicates with the MTC server according to the random accessindication for initiating communication, which comprises: obtaining, bythe MTC device, random access time according to the random indicationfor initiating communication, and communicating with the MTC serverwithin the random access time.
 14. The method according to claim 8,wherein the MTC request message sent by the MTC server is received by aCBC, and the CBC obtains the area information.
 15. An MTC device,comprising: a receiving unit, configured to receive a broadcast messagebroadcast by a cell broadcast center CBC, wherein the broadcast messagecomprises a group ID of a group of MTC devices and a communicationnotification message for the group of MTC devices; and a communicatingunit, configured to communicate with an MTC server according to contentin the broadcast message; wherein the CBC obtains area information ofthe broadcast message and broadcasts the area information of thebroadcast message in the following manner: receiving an MTC requestmessage that is sent by the MTC server and carries the group ID of thegroup of MTC devices and the communication notification message for thegroup of MTC devices; obtaining area information of the group of MTCdevices; and initiating a cell broadcast request by using the areainformation; or receiving area information of an area where the group ofMTC devices are located, the group ID of the group of MTC devices, andthe communication notification message for the group of MTC devices,wherein the area information of the area where the group of MTC devicesare located, the group ID of the group of MTC devices, and thecommunication notification message for the group of MTC devices are sentby an MTC gateway or an entity that has a proxy function, and initiatinga cell broadcast request by using the area information, wherein the MTCgateway or the entity that has a proxy function obtains the areainformation in the following manner: receiving an MTC request messagethat is sent by the MTC server and carries the group ID of the group ofMTC devices and the communication notification message for the group ofMTC devices, and obtaining area information of the group of MTC devices.16. The MTC device according to claim 15, wherein the communicating unitcomprises at least one of following units: a judging subunit, configuredto, when the broadcast message further carries MTC indicationinformation, accept the broadcast request according to the MTCindication information, and communicate with the MTC server; and anaccess time obtaining subunit, configured to, when the broadcast messagefurther carries random access indication for initiating communication,obtain random access time according to the random access indication forinitiating communication, and communicate with the MTC server within therandom access time.